Sean McVay again conveys regret over how he handled trading Jared Goff

It’s not a fresh revelation, but Rams head coach Sean McVay still has regrets over how he handled trading Jared Goff.

Heading into last season’s Week 7 matchup between the two teams, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay expressed regret over how he handled trading Jared Goff to the Detroit Lions in the deal that of course brought Matthew Stafford to Los Angeles.

During the week leading up to the game, Goff didn’t seem to have much time for his former coach’s regrets.

"I mean, yeah, that’s good to hear, of course. That’s good to hear,” “But at the same time, it was the handled the way it was and there’s really not many hard feelings. It’s just the way the business is. We’ve had our talks obviously since the trade, back when it happened, but its alright. I mean, I appreciate him saying that, but it was handled the way it was.”"

Sean McVay still regrets the way he handled trading Jared Goff

The idea of Stafford going to the Rams was born when he and McVay saw each other on vacation in Cabo. Since all they did was win a Super Bowl in Stafford’s first season as their quarterback, the Rams should have absolutely no regrets for making the deal to upgrade at the most important position on the field. They reached a Super Bowl with Goff, but that was the ceiling with him.

During a recent appearance on Mike Silver’s “Open Mike” podcast, courtesy of Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk, McVay revisited his regret about the way he handled trading Goff while acknowledging how fast things moved regarding Stafford.

"That was a hard thing for me because the thing that’s more important than anything is being a good communicator — clear, open, and honest. Making sure people aren’t caught off guard and really having respect for the players and the coaches for what they have to do. And I wish that there had been better in-person communication,” McVay said.When it got public that we were interested in Matthew, what we thought was going to be a week’s worth of time ended up happening in about 24 to 36 hours,” McVay said. “So all in all, biggest thing I regret, [not] being able to sit down, look him in the eye and be able to communicate kind of where we are, what we were going to try to do moving forward. And for that, I regret it, I’ll not make those same mistakes again.”"

McVay added how he wishes he’d handled the situation “better as a leader” and there’s “no doubt” he could have done a better job providing clarity for Goff.

While the semantics that came to light looked harsh for Goff, and still do to some degree, Stafford wanted to go to the Rams when they became an option and the Lions accommodated that.

With the Rams as all-in as they are (Goff is the most recent first-round pick they’ve made), making the move to get Stafford (or another quarterback who would’ve been a clear talent upgrade) had to be done if it was possible. Ultimately it’s not personal, it’s business. But McVay hasn’t let go of how he initially handled telling Goff he was going to be replaced.